SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
RAIDERS LOOKING LIKE LOSERS AGAIN

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The Raiders (1-3) are staying the course for their 11th non-winner in a row. Uneasy lies the headset on Dennis Allen, Silver and Blackdom’s seventh head coach in 11 seasons. After 20 games, he’s 5-15. The man trying to throw passes last Sunday, Matt Flynn — sacked seven times by a Redskins team allowing 33 points per game — was Oakland’s 16th starter at quarterback since 2003. The quarterback this Sunday will be Terrelle Pryor if he’s recovered from a concussion. He runs fast. But not until this year, Pryor said this summer, did he learn to throw properly. Darren McFadden, perennially the team’s best running back, is quick, powerful and fragile. A hamstring injury forced him out of last Sunday’s game. Since arriving in 2008 as the No. 4 overall draft pick, he never has exceeded 13 games played and has missed 43 percent of the starts.

Sunday night in Oakland, where the Raiders imploded against them in last year’s opener, the Chargers will play the Raiders for the 106th time. Oddsmakers list the Chargers as a 4.5-point favorite. A defeat would be the Raiders’ 17th in the rivalry’s last 20 games. Oakland holds the overall advantage, 58-47-2.

The punter isn’t Shane Lechler. Seven times a Pro Bowler in 12 years with Oakland, he signed a fat deal with Texas last offseason. While Poland-born, 250-pound kicker Sebastian Janikowski is back for his 14th season, the lefty’s uncanny field-goal accuracy hasn’t returned. In eight kicks, he has three misses, two inside 50 yards; one of the makes went above an upright. Allen’s theory is that Janikowski is adjusting to a new holder in Lechler’s replacement, Marquette King.

Charles Woodson is the free safety. After seven seasons with the Packers, he signed with Oakland last offseason, reuniting him with the team that drafted him fourth overall in 1998. Woodson — clever, agile and daring — floats near the line looking for playmaking chances. Dragging down one ballcarrier after leaping over a body, cutting down another with an ankle shot, he has forced two foes from games with a minor injury this month. He turns 37 Monday and isn’t as fast as in his cornerback days.

LaMarr Houston, the only active starter from last year’s defense, is the best pass-rusher. In Week 3 against the Broncos, disengaging with quick hands, he got home in 2.5 seconds and blindsided Peyton Manning. The back blow forced a fumble that Oakland recovered. He beat Ryan Clady’s backup, Chris Clark, making his first start. Houston (6-foot-3, 300 pounds) has two sacks; his career best is five, set in 2010 as a rookie with a more talented Raiders defense.

In strong safety Tyvon Branch (leg), the Raiders will be without a fast, hard hitter often praised by Chargers players. Branch, who signed a $26.5 million extension last year, went down in the Week 2 win over Jacksonville (0-4). His replacement is converted cornerback Brandian Ross, an undrafted third-year player.